The City Council has awarded a three-year contract for ambulance service to a company that was fined two years ago for double-billing patients and was the lowest-ranked of five companies vying for the contract. Emergency Ambulance Service paid a $30,000 fine in September, 1992, after investigators for the district attorney's office discovered that the company was collecting money from both patients and their insurance companies for ambulance service.

The city has renewed a contract with Orange County Striping Services Inc. for the citywide repainting of traffic striping. The $35,000-a-year contract includes a 3% increase requested by the contractor for the 2000-01 fiscal year. The firm has been working for the city since March 1998.

Placentia police officers and police management personnel have received a 4% salary increase plus revisions to their benefits, including overtime compensation for training and working at special events. The City Council this month approved one-year contracts with both police employee groups through September. The salary and benefit adjustments for the 48 people will cost the city about $157,395, said Marla K. Anderson, director of administrative services. Both the Placentia Police Officers Assn.

The city's 37 police officers received a 2.5% pay raise this week, which means about $100 more a month in their paychecks. The City Council approved the salary raise, retroactive to September 1997, along with increases in certain benefits. The changes in the one-year contract will cost the city an estimated $67,300. In other action, the council gave local developer Warren Parchan approval to build 16 apartments for senior citizens on a half-acre site on Golden Avenue, west of Rose Drive.

The City Council has awarded a $292,000 contract to Hillcrest Contracting Inc. of Corona to make long-awaited improvements to Chapman Avenue between Placentia Avenue and Angelina Drive. Officials said the company, which submitted the lowest bid, has extensive experience. The project will include a pavement overlay, pavement reconstruction and replacement of curbs, gutters and sidewalks that were damaged by tree roots. Work is set to begin this month.

The City Council tonight will consider awarding a contract for about $211,000 to Public Safety Systems Inc. to install the final phase of a program to computerize the Police Department's dispatching. The Police Department began its Computer Aided Dispatch during fiscal 1995-96. The program uses computer software to manage calls for police service, verify addresses and check histories for previous requests for police service.

Under a recently approved contract with the La Habra Police Department, most suspects arrested in Placentia will be booked at the La Habra jail beginning next month. Currently, suspects are booked into the Orange County Jail through the Sheriff's Department. The city pays $158 per booking, with about 25 to 30 suspects booked each month. La Habra offered to book and house Placentia's prisoners for $100 per booking, which will save the city about $17,400 annually in booking fees.

The city's record-keeping system is about to be modernized, said Marla Anderson, director of administrative service. Last week, the City Council awarded a $48,160 contract to Empire Computer Solutions of Riverside to install the LaserFiche Program, a computer software system that transfers paper documents into electronic data. With the data stored on CDs, it can be instantly archived and retrieved in a matter of seconds, Anderson said. Each CD can hold 66,000 documents.

A plan to replace the floor at City Hall and the Police Department has been delayed after bids submitted by contractors were far higher than expected. City officials were also disappointed that only two bids were submitted. The existing floors have large clay tiles that city officials say could be dangerous. "The floor is definitely a problem for people in wheelchairs, using crutches and walkers," said Director of Public Works Chris Becker.

All City Management Services Inc. has agreed to provide the city with crossing guard service at a cost of $85,291 a year. The City Council last week awarded a contract to the Los Angeles company. The agreement requires that all 13 of the city's crossing guards are hired, are paid at their current salaries and are posted at their same locations for at least the first year of the contract. Crossing guards are posted for street supervision at eight elementary schools in the city.

The City Council tonight will consider awarding a contract for about $211,000 to Public Safety Systems Inc. to install the final phase of a program to computerize the Police Department's dispatching. The Police Department began its Computer Aided Dispatch during fiscal 1995-96. The program uses computer software to manage calls for police service, verify addresses and check histories for previous requests for police service.

The City Council has awarded a $292,000 contract to Hillcrest Contracting Inc. of Corona to make long-awaited improvements to Chapman Avenue between Placentia Avenue and Angelina Drive. Officials said the company, which submitted the lowest bid, has extensive experience. The project will include a pavement overlay, pavement reconstruction and replacement of curbs, gutters and sidewalks that were damaged by tree roots. Work is set to begin this month.

Placentia police officers and police management personnel have received a 4% salary increase plus revisions to their benefits, including overtime compensation for training and working at special events. The City Council this month approved one-year contracts with both police employee groups through September. The salary and benefit adjustments for the 48 people will cost the city about $157,395, said Marla K. Anderson, director of administrative services. Both the Placentia Police Officers Assn.